Final Fantasy XIII Novelization
by The Fantasy Man
Summary: After thirteen days of fates intertwined, the battle began. The story of six people trying to change their fates and save the world. Lightning and Snow trying to save their sister and fiancee respectively, Hope a young boy with vengeance on his mind, Sazh seeking a way to save his son and Fang and Vanille two Pulsians trying to solve their focus and return home. Part 1/3
1. Main Characters

Final Fantasy XIII Main Characters

Lightning

This solitary young woman speaks little of herself-even her true name is a mystery. She is known to others simply as "Lightning."

Quote: "You want quiet, you'd better take the next train."

Snow Villiers

An irrepressible, fiery young man, Snow dives headfirst into danger using nothing but his powerful physique as a weapon. Easily swayed by emotion, he is prone to rash words and actions. Nonetheless, many are won over by his outgoing and optimistic nature.

Quote: "Our focus is to protect Cocoon."

Serah Farron

Serah is Lightning's younger sister, and Snow's fiancée. Possessing an inner fortitude beyond her years, she is more capable of making her own decisions, whatever her somewhat overprotective sister might think. In fact, Serah spends just as much time worrying about her elder sibling's well-being as Lightning does Serah's.

Quote: "The point is, I have people I can count on. I'll make it through."

Oerba Dia Vanille

Vanille is an endearing young woman with a relentlessly sunny disposition. Her bright personality gives no hint of the dark resolve that lies within.

Quote: "The Pulse Fal'Cie. It held our future and our fate."

Hope Estheim

Hope is a normal boy from a normal family whose childhood on Cocoon can best be described as uneventful. Inexperienced in the ways of the world, and wont to turn to his mother for protection, he is completely unprepared for the turmoil into which his life is thrown when he is unexpectedly caught up in the Sanctum's brutal Purge.

Quote: "Why do you want to help a L'Cie? They're the enemy!"

Oerba Yun Fang

Fang is a mysterious young woman who is working with the Sanctum military despite bearing the mark of the detested L'Cie. Strong minded and disinclined to mince words, she has the demeanour of someone wholly unconcerned by life's trivialities.

Quote: "If I were you, I'd worry about myself."

Sazh Katzroy

Sazh is a friendly, cheerful man who is never without his curious companions- a Chocobo chick and a pair of pistols. He is quick to banter, but also keeps a mature perspective on matters. Uncontrollable events have set him on the current path, but another purpose compels him to walk it.

Quote: "Chocobo, we just can't catch a break, can we?"


	2. Prologue

Final Fantasy XIII

Prologue

Cocoon- A Utopia in the sky.

Its inhabitants believed their world a paradise. Under the Sanctum's rule, Cocoon had long known peace and prosperity.

Mankind was blessed by its protectors, the benevolent Fal'Cie, and believed that tranquil days would continue forever.

Their tranquillity was shattered with the discovery of one hostile Fal'Cie.

The moment that Fal'Cie from Pulse-the feared and detested lowerworld-awoke from its slumber, peace on Cocoon came to an end.

Fal'Cie curse humans, turning them into magic-wielding servants.

They become L'Cie-chosen of the Fal'Cie.

Those branded with the mark of a L'Cie carry the burden of either fulfilling their Focus or facing a fate harsher than death itself.

A prayer for redemption.

A wish to protect the world.

A promise to challenge destiny.

After thirteen days of fates intertwined, the battle begins.


	3. Chapter 1

Final Fantasy XIII

Part One: The Hanging Edge

Chapter 1: Defiers of Fate

Summary: Lightning and Sazh are held aboard a military 'Purge' train along with a group of civilians destined for exile. In stark contrast to the uncertain and despairing people around her, Lightning appears determined and focused.

She seizes upon an instant of inattention to disable a guard, and her impressive display inspires Sazh and the other civilians to take up arms against the soldiers.

After clashing with army forces, the train crashes to a halt in the war-torn district known as the Hanging Edge.

Sazh attempts to figure out Lightning's angle, but she shows little desire to share. The former soldier throws herself into battle without the slightest hint of hesitation – what could be driving her…?

A train rushed down the tracks at a quick pace, weaving through and around high mountains making its way to one of the most desolate locations in Cocoon, the Hanging Edge. Inside the train everyone where in white robes with blue lines running down the sides, their hands chained together no room for a lock in the cuffs, only open able by a button on a control pad held by one of the armed soldiers on the train. These robes marked the people as being infected by Pulse, the feared lower world below Cocoon and they were all to be purged, which meant being sentenced to an imprisonment on Pulse, never to return to Cocoon.

The train door slid open and an armoured soldier clad in green bulky armour with yellow glowing lights in the stripes running down the armour of the soldier. The armoured soldier walked through, he was carrying a sub-machine gun in case with several bullets within which fired at an impeccable pace once the trigger was fired. The soldier was wielding the gun in case there was any resistance from the Purge deportees. He looked at the people through the small visor in his head armour to see if there was anything suspicious going on. Seeing that nothing was amiss, he started to walk down the train, finger on the trigger of his gun, not scared to fire if there was anyone trying to escape or up to anything that he considered wrong for a simple way of putting it.

As the soldier continued to walk down the train checking on the people inside, and the train continued to whistle down the tracks, one of the people in the blue and white robes turned to the person next to him and said "You serious?" She replied with a curt "Be quiet." The man's name was Sazh Katzroy, he had dark skin and a beard but had a wise aurora that you could sense about him. Sazh was an ex-pilot, with two safely concealed pistols on him which he was given in case there were any monster attacks during his flights. He chuckled and said "Best of luck."

As the train continued down the tracks it went straight through a shield causing the train to shudder and the guard to stumble. Then she struck, with no time for the guard to stop her and no time for any other soldiers to help. Fast as the thing that gave her name, Lightning. She attacked the guard like a lightning bolt and broke the mechanical pad that released the cuffs on all the people's hands. Sazh smiled and said joyfully "She did it."

Two more guards came into the room, to try and stop her, both armed with machine guns, the soldiers holding them close to their chests in case needing them to use as a close-up weapon , their fingers on the triggers ready to fire at the trouble maker, no problems with killing for either of them. Lightning threw off her purge robes, revealing her soldier's amour with a red cape and her pink hair. The recently retired member of one of the two sides of the military, the Guardian Corps was extremely deadly and powerful as she easily knocked down the two soldiers and stole one of their machine guns and ran through the door to the next section where she was met with another guard. She easily fired several rounds into the guard killing him, Lightning had almost reduced herself to a robot as she also had no problems with killing, she only showed any emotions with one person in her life, and she was gone, taken from her and now she was going to get her back.

Meanwhile Sazh was checking on the people back in the section where he was and said to a boy sat on the ground, "You all right?" The boy looked at Sazh hesitantly and Sazh said "I'm not a L'Cie." Then Sazh's Chocobo chick jumped out of his hair and squealed causing the kid to smile.

Whilst this was happening, Lightning continued to fight soldiers and activated her anti gravity jump allowing her to glide through the air crushing soldiers against the wall, kicking them away and shooting them with the two machine guns she stole, the second one after kicking a soldier to the ground. She spun and glided through the air, firing bullets killing, wounding and disarming soldiers, one bullet going straight through a soldiers visor and hitting him between the eyes.

Sazh then joined Lightning near the front of the train with his own choice of weapon, the two small pistols that he concealed beforehand. Sazh was also carrying another weapon, this one though was much deadlier, it was a missile launcher. Sazh hands Lightning her own weapon which was confiscated before they were allowed to board the Purge Train. Lightning's weapon is a combination of a Sword and Gun otherwise known as a Gunblade. Behind Sazh are several civilians wielding machine guns who have decided to take up arms against the Sanctum.

The train continues hurtling down the tracks until it comes out into a large area known as the Hanging Edge. Lightning sticks her head out of the door, where she sees several flying robots firing at the train. She looks at Sazh and says "Give me that." She then yanks the missile launcher out of his hands and focuses on her target and fires causing an explosion as the missile hits its target.

As the train continues on a mechanical bird appears and follows after it. Lightning fires another missile but this time she misses and the bird fires back with a powerful lightning bolt causing the train to fall of the tracks and down onto some other tracks further below.

Meanwhile other purge trains have revolted as well and have taken up arms against the Sanctum soldiers and their mechanical machines which they summon through small portals. The soldiers were summoning either mechanical dogs or giant behemoths.

Now on the tracks below, a gigantic machine known as Manasvin Warmech landed on top of the train and gripped on to it tightly trying to force the train to a halt. After a few seconds it finally succeeds and then starts bombarding the train with attacks from its mechanical tail. After a few hits the Warmech opens up a hole in the train and seeing this Sazh shouts "Run!" Lightning then jumps out through the hole and heads towards the Warmech, seeing this Sazh shouts, "I meant away."

Sazh then climbs out of the hole joining Lightning on the top where she has her Gunblade out ready to fight the machine. Sazh trying to be calm says "Hey, hey, hey! Let's be rational now." The Warmech doesn't listen to Sazh's pleas and tries to attack them forcing them to crawl out of its way or jump elegantly in Lightning's case. Sazh then says "They're sending in the big guns now. What do we do?" Lightning brushes off Sazh's worried comment and says "Watch and learn."

Lightning dashes forward and slashes the machine twice with her Gunblade, in anger the machine retaliates by trying to slash Lightning which she elegantly dodges. Sazh decides to try and help out as well and starts firing at the Warmech to pierce its armour. Lightning runs forward for another strike and the Warmech fires its laser which Lightning dodges by jumping to the right. She then reaches her target and once again slashes the Warmech twice with her sword. After another few bullets from Sazh and another strike from Lightning's Gunblade, the Warmech jumps back and grabs hold of the part of the train Lightning and Sazh are standing on and starts to pull on it.

Lightning realising what it is up to says to Sazh, "Fall back." The two of them run back and Sazh taunts it saying "Not so tough now." The Warmech hearing this pulls harder on the train causing Sazh to say "Hey, that wasn't like a challenge now. All right?" The Warmech then rips the train in half causing Lightning to quickly run and jump to the other half and Sazh following behind slowly, continually tripping and stumbling and when Sazh reaches the end of the first half, Lightning yells "Jump!" Which Sazh does causing to land on the other half in a heap.

Lightning then says "Heads up!" and Sazh tiredly says "This thing won't give up!" The Warmech then jumps and joins them again and starts another fight. Sazh quickly fires bullets at it which it shrugs off but Lightning then slashes the machine several times taking it by surprise. The machine fires its main cannon which Lightning dodges, followed by its laser which she deflects. Meanwhile Sazh had fired several bullets whilst it fired its main cannon causing it severe damage and then Lightning then jumped into the air and brought her Gunblade down slashing the Warmech with tremendous force.

The Warmech then falls off of the train and starts plummeting down into the dark depths below. Sazh collapses once again and says "Thank goodness. Whew! We did it." Several machines fly pass which Sazh notices but Lightning completely ignores and she puts her Gunblade back in its belt. Sazh then turns to Lightning and says "Aren't you supposed to protect civilians, soldier? I mean you are Sanctum aren't you? What're you doing trying to stop the Purge? Why don't you tell me that?" Lightning barely turns to look and says "I was a soldier." Lightning then runs off and jumps down to the platform below with Sazh saying "Hey, where do you think you're going?" Sazh sighs and then pulls his small Chocobo chick out of his hair and holds it in his hands saying "Chocobo, we just can't catch a break, can we? Well we'd better follow her." Sazh then climbed down the edge of the train and started to follow Lightning into the warpath waiting for them.

**Author's Note: This is the start of my Final Fantasy XIII novelization, what I am hoping to do is to finish this, follow it up with Final Fantasy XIII-2 and then possibly XIII-3. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review.**


	4. Chapter 2

Final Fantasy XIII

Part One: The Hanging Edge

Chapter 2: Fields of War

Summary: Suspect citizens of Cocoon are wrenched from their tranquil existence and threatened with exile to the world of Pulse. The Purge has begun.

The 'land below' is said to crawl with unknown perils, and terrified citizens begin to rebel against the Purge. A revolt also occurs on the train transporting Purge deportees, as Lightning's battle against the guards galvanizes the other prisoners into action.

The train comes to a halt in the district of the Hanging Edge – now a hellish war zone where soldiers open fire indiscriminately upon civilians.

Lightning makes her way through the middle of the conflict, all but ignoring her uninvited companion, Sazh. She seems determined to press onwards even when the path before her is destroyed by military strikes.

Lightning and Sazh had just finished their battle against the powerful, military controlled weapon, the Manasvin Warmech and had jumped down from the now completely wrecked and beyond salvageable train down on to a long stretch of pathway that goes round the entire area that is the Hanging Edge. Lightning, without hesitation started walking down the pathway without a care in the world, feeling ready for whatever was waiting for her up ahead knowing that she could take it on. Sazh however wasn't as optimistic as the former soldier and said "Are you sure we can go through here?"

Lightning ignored her travelling companion and continued to walk on not caring whether Sazh was worried or not and not caring whether if he actually followed her. Lightning was only concerned about one thing, and she wasn't going to let anyone get in her way, she would get the most important person in her life back no matter what it would take. Sazh didn't expect to get a reply from the former soldier but knowing that he probably needed her to get out of here alive, he continued following the former soldier as she went further into the torn and battled war ground known as the Hanging Edge.

As the two Purge deportees made their way through the Hanging Edge, planes and other forms of aircraft swept through the air dropping bombs left, right and centre trying to cut off other deportees modes of transport or the path they were travelling so the soldiers sent to stop them could either catch or kill them. Or so that bombs would kill the deportees themselves, their task was to bring them in dead or alive, it didn't matter to the Sanctum.

Lightning and Sazh continued onwards, and as they did they spotted two Sanctum soldiers similar to the ones that were on the Purge Train that took them to the Hanging Edge. Both of these soldiers were given the rank, PSICOM Warden, however that rank unbeknownst to Sazh was a very low rank in the military, as does the green uniform that they both wore, they are grunt soldiers either new to the military as it is where everyone starts or they just have very bad combat or technical skills or intelligence which is why they are still grunts.

Both soldier's wielded two machine guns and realising that Lightning and Sazh weren't going to surrender they started firing at the two deportees. Lightning easily dodged looking very graceful, whereas Sazh also dodged but tripped on his own two feet as he did so. Lightning ran up to one of the two soldiers and slashed and then impaled him on her Gunblade and then turned to the other soldier and fired a few bullets out of her Gunblade at him, one in the leg, one in the shoulder and the killing blow in the centre of the stomach. Lightning was right when she thought that she didn't need to worry about the Hanging Edge, these soldiers to her were child's play.

Sazh had recovered from his trip and had watched as Lightning had easily dispatched the two soldiers, in awe of the younger woman's strength. Sazh walked over to where Lightning was standing, which was next to a grey circle with a blue portal in the middle, floating in the air which caused Sazh to ask "What do you suppose this is? Army leaving its toys out here?" Lightning ignored the ex-pilot again and continued on her way down the Hanging Edge with Sazh following behind her, his pistols out ready wanting to prove to Lightning he wasn't dead weight and leave him behind. If she left him behind, he knew that he was finished and would die right there in the war torn desolate landscape.

The two of them continued onwards, hoping to find something useful for Lightning's case so that she could again access to a certain area that was currently being hidden by the military and Sazh was looking for a lucky escape but also was actually wondering where the same area as Lighting's was. But neither of them knew that yet, as the two of them continued on.

The duo came across two more PSICOM Warden's and Lightning and Sazh both used their firing weapons as they both dodged a stream of four bullets each and pulled out their weapons as Lightning used the 'Gun' part of her Gunblade and shot through the soldier's visor and straight between the eyes, whilst Sazh sent a few bullets each from both pistols into the stomach of the other warden. Lightning didn't show it on her face but was only very slightly impressed at the fact that her companion had actually killed a person, but because he carried a weapon on him, she knew that he might've been experienced in using a weapon in some form.

Lightning and Sazh once more made their way forward and came across three more soldiers, one of them a PSICOM Warden which they knew were easily dispatchable but there were two new soldiers with him known as PSICOM Enforcers which both wielded rods that were used for disabling weapons or knocking people out.

Lightning quickly dashed through the pathway and past the two Enforcers and impaled the Warden killing him instantly. Meanwhile because their backs were turned, shocked at the speed that Lightning travelled at Sazh loaded his pistols and fired several rounds into the backs of the two soldiers also killing them instantly. As much as he didn't like hurting people, Sazh knew that if he wanted to get out of the Hanging Edge he would have to take any means necessary.

The two of them after finishing their opponents off and Lightning swiping the blood off of her Gunblade moved on and jumped over the mound of blocks that had been created by broken rubble. Once over on the other side Lightning walked over to a nearby sphere floating in the air and opened it revealing a Potion, which she immediately pocketed in case she needed it later against the enemies.

As the two of them moved on ahead they noticed another summoning portal device and a soldier standing by it with a machine gun in his hands ready to take on anyone who tried to get through or resisted capture. Sazh turned to Lightning and said "Not wanting to get Purged I get. But taking on trained soldiers?" Lightning continued to stare ahead and replied saying "Better to die than get sent to Pulse. It's hell without the brimstone." As the two deportees conversed the soldier activated a panel on his armour which summoned two robotic dogs from the portal. "Yeah, well Hell's not sounding too bad. 'Cause this place ain't exactly paradise." Sazh said as he noticed the monsters summoned by the portal. "Domesticated peacekeepers. Nothing to worry about." Lightning replied to Sazh trying to ease his fear. "Maybe not for soldier girl, but – hey!"

Sazh started to say but Lightning started her attack on the PSICOM Warden and the two Pantheron's. Lightning quickly used her Blitz attack on the group of three and Sazh finished the Warden off with two shots from his pistols. They used the same strategy but with a slight difference as Lightning only slashed the Pantheron's and then Sazh shot them eliminating them easily.

After the battle was over, Lightning went up a small flight of stairs and opened another treasure sphere and received two more Potions, which she decided to pocked one for herself and gave the other to Sazh who also pocketed his not needing to heal himself just yet. The two continued on and jumped over a series of blocks set up by soldiers and came across another PSICOM Enforcer and a new aerial soldier called a PSICOM Aerial Recon. Sazh shot at the aerial soldier trying to force it down to the ground whilst Lightning slashed the Enforcer killing it. Once she was finished seeing Sazh had, had no luck she flipped into the air appearing straight in front of the soldier and shot it straight between the eyes killing it instantly.

Lightning landed back on the ground in front of Sazh who was once again in awe of her skills and they continued on, up a flight of stairs and there was a third treasure sphere which Lightning opened to reveal an Iron Bangle, it was a very common accessory as she was wearing one at the moment herself and so she passed it to Sazh and equipped it immediately increasing his HP. Lightning then went down another flight of stairs, up another flight and then down once again and picked up 50 Gil from the nearby treasure sphere. The duo once again were engaged in battle, this time with two Warden's and one Enforcer which they easily defeated and continued down the path they were walking on.

Lightning and Sazh noticed a PSICOM Warden and another Pantheron and Lightning said "Pre-emptive strike," realising that the soldier hadn't noticed them and began charging at the two enemies. The Pantheron however growled which got the soldiers attention who charged at them as well and said "Rebels." Sazh sighed and said "So much for the element of surprise." Lightning jumped and Blitzed the two enemies and Sazh finished off the warden with two bullets whilst Lightning finished off the Pantheron with two slashes from the Gunblade.

After the battle was finished, the two of them moved on and then it happened…, a giant bomb was dropped down on the platform they were on causing a giant crater that prevented them from getting to the other side. Sazh wondering what to do next said "Do we turn back?" Lightning simply replied "There's no time." Sazh still confused said "Then what do you suggest we do?" Lightning cut off him off with a curt "Quiet!"

Lightning walked forward so she was standing on the very edge of the platform and clicked her fingers so she began hovering in the air. Noticing what she was up to, Sazh ran over to her and grabbed hold of her saying "Hey! Wait! No, no don't leave me!" Lightning started fighting Sazh off saying "Let go!" Sazh retorted by saying "Hell no, you're my only way out of here!" Lightning eventually won by punching Sazh in the chest, followed by a blow to the chin sending him down to the floor in a heap. Lightning tried clicking her fingers again but it didn't work, sighing in anger at what just happened.

Sazh then noticed something across the landscape and said "Hey, that might get us across! Right there!" Lightning turned around to a see a flying platform moving closer to the two of them. "Right?" Sazh asked. Lightning sighed again and said "Looks that way." Sazh ran onwards saying "Leave this to me," and Lightning followed behind but covered Sazh as he moved on ahead and she dealt with three Pantheron's and a PSICOM Enforcer which she dealt with three Blitzes one after another easily eliminating her opponents.

Lightning then rejoined Sazh on a circular platform and activated a switch which moved the platform and took them straight over to the big flying platform which Sazh had noticed less than five minutes earlier. The two of them walked onto the platform and headed towards the mechanical mechanism which controlled where it went where they were greeted by two PSICOM Wardens and a PSICOM Marauder.

"Deportees, are we? Weapons down. I'd hate for this to turn ugly," he said revealing his own weapon in return as the two Wardens revealed their weapons as well. Sazh turned to Lightning and said "Uh,… 'turn ugly'?" Lightning replied saying "He wants to kill us without a fight," and she pulled out her Gunblade whilst Sazh un-holstered his two pistols. "Time's up!" the Marauder said and charged at the two of them. He slashed his blade against Lightning's and the two Wardens went to attack Lightning whilst she was distracted but were shot by Sazh's pistols and then were finished when the two pistols were combined to create a rifle and they were both shot in the head. Meanwhile, Lightning managed to separate the handle and the blade itself and then rammed her Gunblade through the marauder killing him and quickly ending the battle.

Once the battle had finished, Sazh had walked over to the control part of the platform and said "So, soldier… What's your angle?" Sazh pressed a few buttons and said "What, is it classified military info? What's it matter? You quit, didn't you? You think I'm gonna go out there and just tell everybody your secret?" Lightning then said something Sazh would never've expected "The Pulse Fal'Cie." Sazh looked shocked and said "What?" Lightning faced Sazh directly and said " My 'angle.' I'm after the Fal'Cie."

Lightning finished the job that Sazh had started as he had gone into shock and had stopped moving and talking. The platform then came back to life and started flying off. Lightning then bitterly said "Still happy you tagged along?" Lightning then walked off and Sazh muttered under his breath, "Didn't have a choice." The flying platform continued its trip and Lighting and Sazh stood idle at separate parts of the platform wondering what was going to happen next.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, but I was just planning out what do with the story in my head and on a piece of paper and I think I've figured out what do with the most of the story just wondering how to write Gran Pulse, Eden and Orphan's Cradle. The latter two become a lot harder as I am about half way through Eden and I've never actually completed the game fully but I'm sure I will've finished the game by the time I get to that point. Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter and I will hopefully update two more chapters today and be halfway through with part one of thirteen. Till Next Time, The Fantasy Man.**


	5. Chapter 3

Final Fantasy XIII

Part One: The Hanging Edge

Chapter 3: Another Rebellion

Summary: The peaceful citizens of Cocoon live in constant fear of invasion by the forces of Pulse-the world below and supposed home of terrors unknown.

Were even a single Pulsian agent to be discovered on Cocoon, panic and civil unrest would be sure to follow, threatening the very fabric of society. To prevent such a calamity, the Sanctum (Cocoon's governing body) initiates the 'Purge'-a government initiative officially entailing the deportation of all those who may have come into contact with corrupting Pulsian influences.

However, the Sanctum army is now brutally slaughtering the civilians they were supposed to be deporting.

Realising that the Purge is nothing more than a massacre in disguise, Snow leads the young freedom fighters of NORA in an effort to protect the Purge 'deportees' from the Sanctum soldiers.

"On behalf of Cocoon's citizens, …I would like to thank our brave Pulse pioneers… …and express our best wishes for a successful relocation. Your noble and selfless sacrifice… … ensures the continued safety and peace of our society. Were it not for this remarkable gesture… …every resident of Cocoon… …your family, your friends, your neighbours… …would be exposed to the dangers of the world below. By choosing to leave Cocoon… …and participating in this migration-."

The Sanctum Primarch's voice was cut off as a foot came crashing down on the radio that his voice was emanating from. The person that the foot belonged to was Snow Villiers, the leader of a group known as NORA which was based in the seaside city of Bodhum and was fiancée to someone of that very city but she was taken from him and he was on a mission to get her back and save everyone who had been swept up into the massacre that was disguised as the Purge. He was a hero after all.

" 'Migration'? More like 'extermination.'" Yuj said. Yuj was another member of Snow's group, Nora. Nora was comprised of five members and Yuj was one of the lower ranked members. Snow cut him off and said "Yuj. You stay here." Yuj nodded and said "Sorry. I didn't mean to-," Snow shook his head and clenched his fist and passionately said "These people need heroes!" Snow grabbed the gun in Yuj's hand and brought his hand up to his chest and said "Here. Youk keep your cool, and they will too. You got it?" Yuj nodded and said "Got it." Snow started to walk off but then turned around and said "What's our motto?" Yuj quickly replied "The army's no match for NORA!" Snow gave him the thumbs up and said "Attaboy." Snow then climbed over the mound of rocks to find the other members of NORA and assist them in stopping the Sanctum.

Once on the other side of the rocks, Snow found a treasure sphere and opened it to reveal 50 Gil which he put in his pocket and continued down the pathway. Snow passed several people scared for the lives, worrying about what would happen if the army broke through and started killing them. Snow didn't say anything to them but in his head he vowed to never let any of the soldiers to hurt them. That's what a hero does.

Snow then came across to a second pile of rocks and started to climb over them to reach the point where his comrades and his other group members of NORA were fighting. Meanwhile, on the other side of the rocks the other members of NORA were fighting against several Sanctum soldiers trying to prevent them from hurting the civilians behind the pile of rocks behind them. "Aw, this is crazy!" Maqui complained. Maqui was the youngest member of NORA and was the lowest ranking member, he was loyal to Snow but wasn't relied on to make huge decisions.

"Then take a nap." Gadot said. Gadot was the second in command of NORA and was Snow's right hand man, whenever Snow isn't around, Gadot takes charge of NORA. "Really? Can I?" Maqui said, his face lightening up and the prospect of taking a nap and relaxing for a few minutes. "Sure! And when we're taking a dirt nap, you can save 'em all." Gadot said. Maqui dropped down to the ground and groaned saying "Aw, that's even worse!" Snow then jumped down next to Maqui and said "No dirt naps today! We're all in this together. Our enemy's the Cocoon Sanctum! Their dreaded PSICOM, no less." "What's to dread? PSICOM's nothing but a whole bunch of bluster and bullying. They've got nothing on NORA." Lebreau said. Lebreau was third in command of NORA and occasionally cooked for the group, she was great at giving advice and always looked out for everyone. "Well, we are the heroes after all." Gadot said in reply to Lebreau. "Let's prove it!" Snow said which got a shout of "Yeah!" from everyone.

The group of four charged at the first enemy, two PSICOM Enforcers. Snow quickly ran in and punched the two of them and winded them whilst Gadot and Lebreau shot them with several bullets from their machine guns, killing them instantly. The group continued on and ran into three more soldiers, two PSICOM Wardens and a PSICOM Enforcer. Snow threw a hand grenade from his belt which exploded on impact killing one of the Wardens and the Enforcer and Maqui shot the second Warden whilst he couldn't see because of the cloud of smoke created by the grenade.

As the quadruplet continued on, Maqui groaned once again and said "No more…" Lebreau sighed and said "There are soldiers everywhere." Gadot turned to Snow and said "Yo, Boss. What's the plan?" "Charge in, guns blazing." Snow replied. "Hey! That's not a plan!" Maqui commented which caused Lebreau to say "Real heroes don't need plans."

The group continued onwards, battling three Pantheron's and two PSICOM Enforcers and one PSICOM Warden. The battle was as easy as the rest. Snow's hand grenade took out one Pantheron, one Enforcer and the only Warden and Gadot and Lebreau took out the Pantheron's, whilst Maqui dealt with the remaining Enforcer allowing them to move forward.

The NORA members moved forward again taking out a group of three PSICOM Wardens and a Pantheron with the gun men and women taking out the soldiers and Snow throwing the Pantheron over the edge of the platform. Next, they battled a group of three PSICOM Wardens and three Enforcers which they had to come up with a strategy to actually beat. Snow threw a grenade and once it reached the middle of all the soldiers Gadot shot it causing the grenade to explode taking out four of the soldiers and Lebreau and Maqui shot the remaining two soldiers, whom where the last soldiers in their way.

At last, they had made it to where some of the Purge deportees were being held captive. Snow walked in front of all them and said "You all okay?" They all looked up to see who had saved them from PSICOM and the rest of the military. Maqui walked over to the crowd and then tripped sending all the guns in his hands flying. Snow turned to face him and with a stern look on his face said "Hey, careful with those." Maqui let out a carefree laugh and Snow turned to the crowd and said "Don't worry, no one's moving to Pulse today. We'll clear you a path out of here, so be ready to-," Snow said but was then interrupted by one man saying "Wait! Let me fight with you!" and then another man saying "Yeah, you can't expect us to just sit here!"

Snow turned to Gadot and said "Could help." Gadot nodded and said "Yep." The first man said "Please. Let use help." Snow nodded and said "Okay then. Volunteers front and centre." Several people rose from the ground and began to collect weapons from Maqui so that they could help fight against the Sanctum and make their way out of the Hanging Edge.

A woman then rose from the ground, known as Nora Estheim and started to make her way over. Her son, Hope looked up and said "Mum." She looked back and said "Don't worry." She picked up a gun and walked over to Snow who looked at her and said "You sure?" She nodded and said "Yeah. Mums are tough." Snow said "Right," and she walked off to join the volunteers and Gadot said "It's the last one, Boss." Snow walked back to the crowd and said "All right, last one. Somebody take it." Snow offered the gun to Hope who moved away and said "No… I can't." However, the girl next to him didn't mind and said "Here." Snow passed the gun to the girl named Vanille and said "Push comes to shove, keep 'em safe." Snow then winked at her and she pretened to shoot Snow, whom pretended to be hurt. 'First impression of Snow? All talk.'

Snow then said "All right, lay low and you'll be fine. We'll clear out the area. We're going home together." Snow said. Lebreau then said "Come on! Everybody up!" Everyone slowly began to rise from the ground and Gadot said "Right. New recruits-on me!" Gadot and the new recruits par Nora ran off and then Snow tapped Nora on the shoulder and said "Come on." Nora said "Right," and then began to follow Gadot and the new recruits as they started the warpath home.

**Author's Note: That's Chapter 3 out of 6 or 7 chapters in part one done. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review if you like it or want to criticise as I don't mind and I will take it all onboard to improve my writing. Till Next Time, The Fantasy Man.**


	6. Chapter 4

Final Fantasy XIII

Part One: The Hanging Edge

Chapter 4: The Warpath Home

Summary: The Purge is a Sanctum initiative designed to protect the stability of Cocoon by forcing potentially dangerous civilians to relocate to Pulse.

However, the relocation is simply a façade to cover the massacre that ensues. The government's true goal is the brutal extermination of all possible threats to a peaceful society.

Having discovered the horrific truth, Snow leads the members of NORA against the government soldiers of PSICOM.

Inspired by the brave actions of this handful of brave young men and women, the beleaguered civilians take heart and join the battle in hope of returning to a normal life.

Among the citizens who stand against the forces of PSICOM is a mother who wishes for nothing more than to protect her son.

Nora and Snow were just about to head off when she remembered about her son Hope, the boy she was fighting for, the future of whom she was fighting for. She gave him one last look and he stared right back at her, the glance between the two of them expressing what they wanted to say more than words ever could and then their contact was split. "Time to go, kiddo." Lebreau said and forced Hope up by the arm and making him walk off to safety with the non-fighting Purge deportees, whilst she rejoined Snow, Gadot, Maqui, Nora and the other Purge deportees as they once again fought the PSICOM forces to freedom. Hope looked once more at the back of his mother as she moved away from him and out of his grasp and then he turned away himself making his way with the other deportees to safety.

Snow turned to face Gadot, Lebreau, Maqui and Nora who were still with him and said "We're not losing to PSICOM, you hear me?" Lebreau nodded and said "This'll be a piece of cake." Snow smiled at the eagerness of his fellow NORA member and one of his best friends. Now it's time for the heroes to do what they do best and that's fight.

Snow walked over to a nearby treasure sphere and opened it to reveal and Iron Bangle, a very common accessory in Cocoon. Snow already had one equipped but it might become useful in the future so he pocketed it and continued on the path he was on, ready to fight every PSICOM soldier in Cocoon if that's what it took to save the deportees and make the Sanctum realise that what they were doing was wrong.

The team of five moved up the pathway where they saw some of the new recruits hiding behind some blocks whilst using them as shields and firing at the enemy soldiers when it was safe too. Snow decided that they would take care of it for them and charged at soldiers. In total there were four soldiers, two PSICOM Wardens and two PSICOM Enforcers. Snow ran at one of each rank and pummelled them with his fists and then threw them into the other two soldiers causing them to fall back as they were dazed. The other's then took this as an opportunity as Gadot, Lebreau, Maqui and Nora shot one of the soldiers each. Gadot took one of the Wardens, Lebreau one of the Enforcers, Maqui the other Enforcer and Nora took down the last Warden, all of them killing the targets easily and allowed the recruits they helped to move up the pathway and continue to eliminate the PSICOM soldiers up ahead.

As Snow moved up ahead he shouted back behind himself, "Lebreau, back us up!" Further up, they came across a Pantheron and three PSICOM Wardens and Snow's advice came in very handy as whilst everyone took their own target; Snow punched a Warden, Gadot shot a Pantheron, Maqui shot a Warden and Nora shot the last Warden, Lebreau finished off all the targets with a stream of bullets from her machine gun. With all four enemies defeated and dead it was safe for the five of them to move on, which was exactly what they did.

Up ahead a soldier stood on a series of blocks with his gun pointing towards the sky and said "Mobilize beta force! Put down the resistance!" and released several bullets into the sky. A PSICOM military aircraft then flew overhead and on top of the aircraft was a Beta Behemoth which jumped down from the aircraft and landed with a heavy impact down on the platform and stared at the footsteps that it heard run towards it. Snow smirked at the Behemoth and said "Heroes don't run from fights," and this statement seemed to anger the creature as it charged straight at the group of five as the battle began.

The Behemoth swiped its claws at the group, who easily dodged it and Snow ran in first charging at the Behemoth and gave it two hard and heavy blows straight to the forehead of the creature. The Beta Behemoth went to retaliate but Snow jumped and flipped in the air and this caused the Behemoth to miss completely and then whilist it was distracted by trying to attack Snow, it got hit by several bullets, coming from everyone's guns, hitting the Behemoth in different areas as they were all in different areas on the certain area of platform.

Gadot remained in front of the Behemoth as he opened fire covering it in a shower of bullets causing some serious damage. Nora and Maqui both shot the Behemoth in its sides as whilst it was distracted by Snow they ran to the far left and far right respectively and let loose on the unsuspecting Behemoth. Lebreau however didn't try to get behind the Behemoth, instead she jumped into the air and let loose a stream of bullets which hit it straight in the back causing the monster to cry out in agony.

Snow then borrowed both Gadot and Lebreau who had just landed back on the ground guns and let loose a double stream of bullets which caused the Behemoth to collapse to the ground barely staying alive and then finishing it off with a hand grenade in his pocket which he pulled out a threw straight at the opponent, the gigantic force of the explosion causing it to fall over the side of the platform and disappear into the darkness.

However, after the Behemoth was defeated several PSICOM Wardens appeared and started shooting back at the Purge deportees as an all out war began between civilians and the military. No one was managing to get a hit on anyone apart from Gadot who took a risk by running to the middle of the platform and opening fire, luckily managing to kill one of the Wardens.

Sadly for the civilians, their luck ran out as the same airship that originally carried the Beta Behemoth over to them to fight them came back with a vengeance and activated it's turrets and shot at several of the civilians, killing quite a few of them. "Snow! We got trouble!" Gadot shouted alarmed by the sudden turn of events. "No kidding." Snow replied angered at the lack of mercy the government had for their own people.

Snow looked around the platform and noticed a Rocket Launcher and turned to Nora who was still with him and said "Stay down!" Snow ran out into the open to get the rocket launcher and the airship noticed and fired at him with the full intent to kill him. Snow jumped to avoid the bullets and tried to reach out and grab the rocket launcher but missed and ended up with his body on the ground, the rocket launcher out of reach and the airship opening up it's main cannon and getting ready to fire and destroy the main platform and kill Snow, Gadot, Nora and anyone else who was still there and trying to resist PSICOM and the Purge.

Then a miracle occurred… a missile appeared out of nowhere and struck the airship causing a giant cloud of smoke to appear and the airship to start crashing down, it's power source destroyed when the missile hit the airship. Snow turned around to see Nora holding the missile launcher who said "I told you, didn't I?," She then reached an arm out to Snow and said "Mums are tough." Snow grabbed onto her arm and she pulled him back up, but there troubles weren't over yet.

Another aircraft appeared and shot a giant missile at the bridge which exploded upon impact, several people dying as the explosion went off and other's dying as they rolled down the platform into the darkness below as well as the bodies of the deportees who were already dead.

From across the way, Hope and Vanille watched the catastrophe as they saw the bodies of all the deportees who tried to fight, get massacred by the missile or those hanging on to live by a small thread falling to their deaths. Snow and Nora were on the other side of the platform, still on stable land, with Nora currently unconscious but Snow was awake and as he saw what had happened he could only say "No…No!"

Then another missile struck, this time hitting the platform Snow and Nora was on, striking the connecting part of the bridge causing the two of them to tumble down the platform. They had just reached the edge of the platform and were about to tumble into the darkness below when Snow managed to grip onto a piece of metal sticking out from the platform and grabbed onto Nora's hand to prevent her from falling to what would definitely be her death.

Nora regained consciousness for a second and looked up at Snow and pleaded to him saying "Get him home… Please…" Snow trying to convince her not to give up said "Hold on!" Nora just gave Snow one last smile and closed her eyes, falling slightly lower as Snow tried to pull her up. Snow continued to try to pull her up with his gloved hand, but he just couldn't find the strength to do it and she fell from his gloved hand into the darkness below. At the same time two people both shouted "Noooo!" One of them was Snow who had just failed to save another person's life.

And the other was Hope who had just watched his mother, fall to her unstoppable death. Snow continued to grasp onto the metal that was sticking out of the platform, only able to look down at where she fell and then he fell as well. The metal dislodged itself from the platform and he started falling through the air, his arms flailing about trying to reach out for anything so he could save himself.

Hope and Vanille were still looking on at what had happened, the massacre that had just ensued that had taken the life of Hope's mum along with numerous others. Hope's breathing had become disjointed and heavy but he was not hyperventilating. Still rooted in place, Vanille put her hands on his shoulders and said "Come on!" When Hope remained standing in the same place, she slapped him and said "We have to move!" Hope nodded and said "All right!" The two of them ran off, Vanille dragging Hope by his arm as she ran, both of them trying to escape the government proposed massacre that was the Purge.

**Author's Note: That's Chapter 4 out of either 6 or 7 chapters done. What do you think? Should I make the Hanging Edge 6 or 7 chapters? Anyway please continue to read and review if you want to give any criticism or tell me if you liked anything. Till Next Time, The Fantasy Man.**


	7. Chapter 5

Final Fantasy XIII

Part One: The Hanging Edge

Chapter 5: Fallen Innocence

Summary: Cocoon's citizens have always been terrified of Pulse and the mysterious horrors that are said to stalk its hostile wastelands.

Their fear is so great that if a Cocoon native were to even have the briefest contact with Pulsian elements, former friends and neighbours would consider them corrupted and dangerous.

In light of this fact, the Sanctum orders the Purging of Bodhum in an effort to remove all potentially Pulse-tainted civilians.

Accordingly, soldiers round up all those identified as candidates for relocation and inform them of their impending exile.

However, PSICOM, the elite arm of the Sanctum military, then begins to massacre the helpless civilians. This prompts Snow to lead the people in a rebellion against the army. Tragically, one of the civilians who decides to follow him, hoping to protect her son, dies in the act of saving Snow's life.

From afar, the boy witnesses the moment of his mother's death in shock and disbelief.

Sazh watched on from the edge of the flying platform as more and more army forces swept across the desolate area known as the Hanging Edge as shot down several deportees in rebellion against the Purge, killing the instantly. Sazh was shocked at the brutality, that the Sanctum military used against the civilians, not even giving them the option of surrender, just shooting them on the spot, eliminating the threat.

"It's an out-and-out massacre. Those people won't even live long enough to die on Pulse." Sazh said watching on as more and more people were struck down right before his eyes, realising what the military was truly capable of. He was slightly relieved that he had Lightning by his side, an experienced soldier who could take on groups of these soldiers and beat them on her own. The fact he was there just sped up the process and even though he had used weapons longer than Lightning had been alive, Sazh knew that she definitely had more experience and in a fight he would lose.

"That was the idea," Lightning said, walking over to where Sazh was standing, joining him as they both watched the military massacre the purge deportees who revolted against the Purge, and even killing those who didn't. Sazh turned to face Lightning and with a shocked look on his face he said "What?" Inside, Sazh was thinking numerous questions, most of them being either, 'what does she mean that was the idea?' or 'How does she know this?'

"Sanctum logic. They conjured up the Purge to eliminate a threat," Lightning said with venom in her tone as she spoke, even her an ex-army member still couldn't agree with this it was just too evil in her opinion. "I mean-why carry the danger all the way to Pulse? Why not just stamp it out here? Execution masquerading as exile. That's all the Purge ever was." Lighting said explaining as much as she knew about the Purge and how much she had realised since the deportees had revolted and the actions of all the enemies she and Sazh had faced so far in the quest to escape the army and the Purge.

Sazh sighed and then gave a dry chuckle, even though he didn't find the situation or what the army had done humorous at all. " 'Relocation to Pulse.' How does the government get away with pulling crap like that?" Sazh said not believing that the government had so much power that they could actually eliminate an entire nation without even batting an eyelash, just giving the military an order and it being dealt with by the next day.

He then turned to Lightning and said "And you-you knew this was gonna happen?" Sazh realised that Lightning had some information on the Purge and wondered how far it went. Lightning shook her head slightly and said "The Purge was PSICOM. Private Sanctum troops, not the Guardian Corps." Lightning tried to explain to Sazh that the Purge wasn't in her jurisdiction at all, and that she just had access to certain pieces of information, but that didn't work at all.

"PSICOM, Guardian Corps… Soldiers are soldiers, aren't they?" Sazh said, getting more and more frustrated and irritated with the situation, the army and the government as the seconds went by. "Pulse Fal'Cie, and their L'Cie, are enemies of the state. Tell a soldier to kill an enemy… …and you really think it's going to matter what uniform he's wearing?" Sazh questioned Lightning, wondering what it mattered whether what branch of the military you belonged to.

Lightning pointed to one of the two grunt soldiers, Sazh and her had defeated earlier and said "Might have mattered to that one. Couldn't shoot, got himself shot instead," Lightning then started to walk forwards but stopped a little bit before she reached one of the far edges of the mobile, flying platform.

"How about you? Orders say shoot, you pull the trigger?" Sazh questioned, still trying to understand the ex-guardian corps soldier, the mysterious enigma that was Lightning. Lightning didn't provide an answer and just remained silent, and continued staring onwards. Sazh, still angry at Lightning, and showing it in his tone as he spoke, said "Fine. Forget I asked," and then he walked off in the opposite direction.

But luckily for the two of them, the awkward silence couldn't last too much longer as a new enemy arrived. A flying robot whizzed through the air, went into the platform and went over their heads and back again, whilst Lightning said "Wait… What-," and then the robot had enough playing around with the two purge deportees and charged at the two of them.

The robot was known as a Myrmidon and it was a tall robot and was painted red, white and blue with spikes in its claws that it used for fighting and was one of the weaker robots that were used in the Sanctum military, it was mainly used against civilians or small-time robbers, it had never battled another army member before and especially not one as high a rank as Lightning.

Lightning pulled out her Gunblade and Sazh did the same with his pistols and the fight began. The Myrmidon charged at Lightning with its claws and tried to slash her, but Lightning expertly dodged the attack with graceful movements and landed two quick slashes with her Gunblade against the robot and almost got in a third, the Myrmidon only managing to dodge just in time.

However, as it dodged the third attack from Lightning, it was Sazh's turn who fired eight bullets from each pistol causing serious damage to the Myrmidon's armour as it all hit in the same place that Lightning's slashes hit, the chest armour. Sazh then combined the two pistols to create a rifle and fired one last bullet, which with the combined power of both pistols had another power to break open the Myrmidon's chest and reveal its power source.

And then it all came to an end, Lightning readied her Gunblade, and with extreme accuracy sent a bullet straight into the Myrmidon's power source, shutting it down and to make sure it had no chance of being able to come back, Lightning leapt into the air and brought her Gunblade down straight onto the neck joint separating its head from the rest of its body. Some would call it overkill, Lightning however thought that it was just right, the needed precaution to ensure a further chance of living another day.

Then it happened… a loud army siren could be heard all around the Hanging Edge. It didn't matter where you were, you could be right next to the location where the siren was sounding from, you could be on the outskirts of the Hanging Edge itself it just didn't matter, it could be heard everywhere. 'What is going on?' Sazh thought, not realising that the true adventure was just about to begin.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter but I decided to make the first part of the story seven chapters and this is where it felt appropriate to end the chapter. Please continue to read and review and if I get 5 reviews I will update the next chapter by the end of the day, perhaps if I get more than 5 reviews, I will try and finish the first part of the story as there are only two more chapters for the Hanging Edge part of Final Fantasy XIII. Till Next Time, The Fantasy Man.**


	8. Chapter 6

Final Fantasy XIII

Part One: The Hanging Edge

Chapter 6: The Fal'Cie Awaits

Summary: A massive object is being transported through the sky over the Hanging Edge. This object is a Pulse Vestige-a lowerworld artefact that had been nothing more than a Bodhum landmark. Two days ago, it was discovered that the Vestige housed a long dormant Pulse Fal'Cie.

The Fal'Cie had slumbered undisturbed on the outskirts of a Cocoon city for centuries. The Sanctum declares that the presence of the Pulse entity and its corrupting magics have tainted the entire population of the city, and orders the Purge.

For different reasons, Lightning and Sazh now make their way towards the very being that was the catalyst for so much tragedy.

Snow, meanwhile is crushed by feelings of guilt after many die under his command. He only emerges from his gloom when Gadot reminds him that the Fal'Cie is holding a certain young lady captive-who needs her hero now more than ever.

Around the area of the Hanging Edge everyone was wondering what was going on, what the siren meant and what was going to happen next. Then, a voice sounded, the same as the siren in the fact that it could be heard all around the Hanging Edge began to speak, the specific voice speaking to everyone in the rebellion against the Purge and the Sanctum.

"Attention Purge deportees. Attention Purge deportees. Put down your weapons and surrender immediately. Your removal is the will of the people of Cocoon. Should you attempt to flee, the Sanctum will employ every resource necessary to bring you to justice. This land is no longer your home. Cease hostilities and surrender at once." The voice spoke out from an undisclosed location, ordered by the Sanctum to give a speech to persuade the deportees to surrender and make their elimination all the easier.

But that's not all that was going on. The Sanctum was readying itself for the final stage of the Purge. As everyone knew the Purge was a Sanctum initiative to get rid of everything and everyone that had been tainted by Pulse from the seaside city of Bodhum. This also meant the Pulse Fal'Cie, the one that was discovered only a few days ago, the catalyst that put in motion the events that led to the Purge which in turn turned out to be the biggest massacre that had ever befell Cocoon.

The Pulse Fal'Cie and the Vestige it had been dwelling in for the past hundred, maybe thousand years as the citizens of Cocoon were unaware of how long it had been there, had been hidden ever since it had been revealed to be hostile ever since the incident in Bodhum. But now it was time for it to be destroyed and put the fears and concerns of the Cocoon populace to rest. This would be one of the last acts of the Purge, the last two acts however was still to come, and that's if they were even needed, releasing the net and catching the net, the final part of the Purge to finally eliminate any lucky stragglers who had escaped the massacre that had been started at the Hanging Edge.

But, for now it was too early for that stage now it was time to reveal the Pulse Fal'Cie Vestige and the evil monster that dwelled within to the Hanging Edge. The idea was to use several pieces of machinery to pull the Vestige out of the secret hiding place it had been hidden in and to hold it in place, in the dead centre of the Hanging Edge whilst the military got ready and began to obliterate the Vestige, insuring the destruction of the hostile Fal'Cie and then dropping the Vestige down into the powerful and ferocious waves of Lake Bresha where it would float around until eventually it fell to the bottom of the sea where it would remain until the end of the world.

And that's what they had done, several pieces of equipment, along with airships and people operating other technological pieces of equipment to place the Bodhum Vestige as it was known to Cocoon in the middle of the Hanging Edge and soon it's destruction would begin, and the fear of an invasion from the dark lowerworld known as Pulse would cease to exist and would only be a daft fear and a foolish wish that would exist to the people of the lowerworld who wished to destroy Cocoon.

From all around the Hanging Edge, people could see the Vestige, many wondering what was going on, many wondering if it was being destroyed and a few not paying it any attention instead focusing on a way to escape with their lives intact. But there was one person who this meant a lot to, the hero of Bodhum who had luckily managed to survive a terrific fall and started at the Bodhum Vestige knowing that it carried the love of his life in there and could only let one pass his lips, the name that he would carry with him until the day he died, the very name of his love, "Serah!"

Meanwhile, across on the other side of the Hanging Edge, still on the mobile flying platform was Lightning and Sazh, who the same as almost everyone else was staring at the Bodhum Vestige. "Just what you were looking for." Sazh commented, the memory fresh in his mind when Lightning told him that her angle was the Pulse Fal'Cie. "Yeah. Right in there." Lightning said with a slight smile on her face, realising that she was close and could be finally reunited with the only family she had left in the world. "The Pulse Fal'Cie. Huh." Sazh said, still wondering what could possess Lightning to want to go into the Vestige, or see such a frightful being.

Hope and Vanille were also watching as the Vestige was made to go into the very centre of the Hanging Edge. They had both discarded their Purge robes, refusing to wear them any longer, Hope was wearing his favourite outfit, a yellow shirt with orange shoulder pads and a pair of grey trousers and a blue/green and black scarf. Vanille was wearing no shirt and only wearing a pink bra and a fur pair of shorts and a strange necklace which she wore on the back instead of the front, with a strange symbol emblazoned on it.

Hope watched a young boy and his mother as the little child said "Mum…" in a frightful voice wondering what was going to happen, whilst his mother tried to console him and said "Don't worry. We'll be okay." However, she didn't know that and as much as she wanted it to be true she had no idea whether she and her child would make it out of the Purge alive or not. As Hope watched on he remembered his mother's death as the word, "Mum," passed his lips and that he had no one to rely on now and would have it to make his own way if he wanted to survive the Sanctum initiative of the Purge, which had turned out to be a giant massacre.

Vanille smiled at Hope, who had turned around worried that he might cry if he looked at the mother and son for much longer. The young woman reached down and picked up the gun that was on the floor and put it in Hope's hands saying "Here," to him. Hope, however, froze up when the gun touched his hands, as he held an instrument of death so shortly after the death of his mother. Vanille noticed and wrapped her arms around him bringing him in for a strong embrace and said "It's too much, isn't it?" Vanille then unwrapped her arms from around him and said "Face it later." Hope got a perplexed look on his face and Vanille just smiled and said "Ciao!" and began to run off, which caused Hope to say "Hey! Wait!," and run off after Vanille dropping the gun to the ground and follow the mysterious woman who he only met a few hours earlier.

Meanwhile over on the mobile flying platform, Sazh was asking Lightning about the Fal'Cie and said "So, how do you figure that Pulse Fal'Cie is different from the Sanctum's?" Lightning however was still focused on the Fal'Cie and trying to make her way down to a platform below her. Sazh continued on by saying "All things being equal, I'd just as soon keep wondering."

Lightning had figured out what to do and walked back so she was in line with Sazh and said "Time to jump." Lightning then charged forward and jumped out of the platform and began plummeting towards the ground, all the while Sazh saying "Hey, hang on! What the-? Hey!" As Lightning got closer to the ground, she clicked her fingers and activated an electromagnetic field which she landed in causing herself no damage whatsoever.

Sazh, still on the platform was shocked by what had just happened and said "Damn. If she can do it, so can we." Sazh, however was very nervous about what he was about to do and his small Chocobo chick had decided to make its own way down and Sazh climbed down until he was just hanging on by his fingers and then let go, also plummeting to the ground and was caught at the last second by the electromagnetic field, saving his life. Lightning realising Sazh was fine, started to run onwards knowing that he would catch up later.

Snow, meanwhile had found the unconscious but still alive body of his best friend and right hand man Gadot and began slapping him across the face trying to wake him up saying "Come on. Come on!", the entire time in the hope that he would wake up and they could continue onwards. Gadot, eventually, came back to consciousness and held his shoulder tenderly as it had been injured during the fall from the higher platform as he looked around him as he was surrounded by the bodies of people who had assisted him in rebelling in the Purge and the bodies of Sanctum soldiers alike.

Gadot turned to face Snow and said "What about the others?" fearing for the safety of his friends and fellow NORA members. Snow sighed, also unaware of the fate of his best friends and Gadot tried to reassure him by saying "They didn't die! They couldn't have died!" Snow tried to take what he said to heart and said "Of course not." Gadot rose from the ground and clicked his shoulder back into place and turned to face Snow, who he could tell was seriously troubled about something.

"Hey, get a grip, man! What's wrong with you?" Gadot said trying to figure what had depressed Snow so much. Snow, however was still hearing Nora's last words in his head and he repeated them to himself whilst asking the same question over and over again. " 'Get him home…' Get who home?" A explosion erupted from somewhere elsewhere in the Hanging Edge which distracted Snow long enough for Gadot to get his attention and pointed to a gun next to Snow and said "Toss me that," who picked it up and threw it to him saying "Catch."

Gadot caught the gun and then pointed the gun at Snow who turned around and said "What are you doing?" Gadot simply replied "So what are you afraid of, huh? You're supposed to be the hero." Gadot then took a look at the Pulse Fal'Cie Vestige in the sky and said "She's waiting there, ain't she? Your lovely bride-to-be. Isn't it about time you picked her up?" Snow looked at the Vestige and with a smile on his face said "Yeah."

Then, three motorcycle flew overhead and Snow and Gadot hid behind some boulders to avoid being spotted and when they had landed and no chance of being able to see them until they came closer, Snow said "There's our ride." Gadot laughed and said "Now you're talking. The two of them then began to head off with Snow having a restored determination and with one goal on his mind; to rescue his fiancée from the clutches of the Pulse Fal'Cie.

**Author's Note: That's Chapter 6 done and only one chapter left for the first part of Final Fantasy XIII. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and if anyone would like to be my Beta reader, I'd happily accept it. Please review and I may be able to finish part one by tonight. Till Next Time, The Fantasy Man. **


	9. Chapter 7

Final Fantasy XIII

Part One: The Hanging Edge

Chapter 7: Into the Vestige and Fates Intertwined

Summary: Snow still cannot shake the feelings of guilt. Despite his efforts to protect the Purge deportees from the Sanctum forces, many have fallen.

The death of one woman in particular haunts his thoughts: a mother fighting for the sake of her son, who gave her life to save Snow.

In the moments before her death, the women begged the leader of NORA to take care of her child, but slipped from Snow's grasp without revealing the boy's identity.

With Gadot's help, Snow breaks out of his depression. He figures that if he just goes ahead and protects everyone, then the woman's son will be saved as well.

After checking to see if the children are safe, Snow leaves the waning battle to his fellow NORA members and sets off with new determination towards the Vestige. His fiancée is still held captive by the Pulse Fal'Cie.

A boy watches him leave, eyes filled with rage and loathing. To his grief-stricken mind, Snow is responsible for his mother's death.

For centuries, a Pulse Fal'Cie has slumbered undisturbed on the outskirts of a Cocoon city. On the day the lowerworld entity is finally discovered, Cocoon's peaceful society is plunged into chaos.

The government judges the city's inhabitants to have been tainted by their unwelcome guest, and begins a merciless campaign to expunge both the Fal'Cie and the 'corrupted' citizenry from the face of Cocoon.

Instead of the exile they were lead to expect, the civilians face extermination at the hands of the Sanctum army.

The people fight back, but are hopelessly outmatched by the military.

Lightning cuts her way through the battlefield, doggedly followed by the desperate Sazh.

Snow, meanwhile seeks to rescue his fiancée.

…And a boy spurred on by dreams of revenge pursues Snow with the help of an unusual young lady.

Though driven by separate goals, their paths all lead to the same end: the Pulse Fal'Cie.

With a renewed determination to save his fiancée and save the remaining deportees who had survived the Purge so far, Snow set off with Gadot by his side. The two of them making their way to where the soldiers on the flying motorbikes had landed, preparing to eliminate the soldiers, steal the bikes and find Lebreau and the others, the two of them refusing to believe that they had died.

As they made their way onwards, Snow continually thought the same thing, even though he had some of his faith restored by Gadot, it couldn't stop him wondering whether everyone was all right. 'No!' Snow thought, he couldn't think like that or it would already be over, he had to faith and continue onward. Nothing could stop them now, not after they had come so far.

Snow, as he ran forwards, came across yet another treasure sphere and opened it to reveal a Power Circle, which was the type of weapon he used which surpassed his current weapon the Wild Bear. He removed the Wild Bear which decreased his magic stat by two points but because he didn't use magic, he only used his own physique he equipped it and increased his strength stats by eight points. Once he had finished re-equipping himself, he nodded to Gadot who knew it meant he was ready to go and they both continued onwards.

Running forwards, Snow spotted two Pantherons standing still and a PSICOM Aerial Recon Soldier who hadn't noticed them yet, so the NORA leader decided to take advantage of their current disadvantage and charged in, saying "Standing there ain't gonna stop us!" Snow quickly readied a hand grenade and threw it at the two robot dogs which sent them back into a wall, with Snow charging at them ready to finish the job. Meanwhile, even though the aerial soldier had noticed what was going on from the loud explosion it was already too late. As he went to shoot Snow with his own gun, he struck from behind with several bullets from Gadot's gun, causing to fall into the darkness below, the final burial ground of several people, one of them still fresh in Snow's mind, a young woman who Snow failed to save. Snow, grabbed hold of the two Pantheron's and threw them over the edge, easily dispatching them, clearing the path so that they could move forwards and get even closer to their ticket out of here and back to wherever Lebreau and the others were hopefully waiting for them.

The two of them went up a small flight of stairs and along a small, narrow platform before heading down another flight of stairs, picking up a treasure sphere containing 100 Gil in the corner and then heading up yet another flight of stairs. They went over another small and narrow platform and down another flight of stairs when Snow said "Look! There they are!" Gadot followed him down the last flight of stairs and stopped down by a luckily hidden pile of boxes which shielded them from the soldier's view as they came up with a plan whilst they watched the soldiers.

Up ahead where the soldiers were waiting for further Purge deportees, the leader of the small squadron said "I want every weapon ready to fire. Stay sharp." Snow then turned to face Gadot and said "All right, on my go." Gadot nodded and said "Right." Snow held up three fingers, and then one by one he reduced them. Two fingers. One finger. "Go!" Snow shouted and then he charged.

Gadot appeared from behind the boxes and fired his gun at the group of five soldiers, taking out one on the left and then one of the right as they were distracted. And then it was Snow's turn as he charged at the remaining three soldiers, ready to eliminate them. By the time the three PSICOM Wardens had got their guns ready it was too late, as Snow threw his hand grenade at them, the explosion either killing them, or the ones who survived the initial explosion died after the force of it sent them over the edge of the platform and down below to their inevitable deaths.

After all the enemies had been defeated, Snow and Gadot got in a motorbike each and turned them on, the flying motorbikes beginning to levitate in the air. Gadot turned to Snow and commented "That's a sad sound," referring to the noise the bike was making. "Where's the soul?" Snow popped his head out of the bike and took a look at the Pulse Fal'Cie, standing motionless, supported by several Sanctum machines, the same place where his fiancée was waiting for him to pick her up. "Hey, Gadot…" Snow started, remembering something else on his mind. "Yeah." Gadot replied. "If you don't know who you've got to save, you just protect them all, right?" Snow said, wondering how to complete Nora's final request, having no idea of who he was supposed to get home. "Something on your mind? You got plenty of time for thinking on the way… …Hero." Snow smiled and said "Yeah." And then they both ascended to the same height in the air and Gadot said "Ready!," and Snow finished it by saying "Go!" The two of heading off to search for Lebreau, Maqui or anyone else they knew.

And after a while of searching, they found not only Lebreau and Maqui but Yuj and several Purge deportees where with them as well and they prepared to land, trying to stop the three NORA members from shooting them as they did. Gadot said "Hey!" and Snow said "Hey! It's us, it's us!" Both of them trying to prevent them shooting them. The three NORA members lowered the guns and Snow chuckled and said "Don't shoot."

Gadot landed his motorbike down first, with Snow following shortly afterwards. Maqui said "Snow," and ran towards him with Yuj and Lebreau following behind him. Gadot went over to Snow and said "Since when do you care about kids?" Snow just replied simply "Favour for a friend." Gadot accepted that answer and said "Okay." Maqui then appeared next to them and said "Hey, Snow! You made it!" Yuj and Lebreau walked over next with Gadot saying "Yo," to the two of them and they replied by saying "Whew," and "Hey," respectively.

Gadot jokingly said "So, you really manage to use that thing?" Maqui smiled and laughed saying "Nah, I think I'm done," which Yuj replied to saying "You're done when we are." Meanwhile Hope and Vanille had walked over to see what all the commotion was about and then Hope saw who it was, his self proclaimed enemy, Snow. "That's the one." Hope said to Vanille who said "Didn't you have something to tell him?" Hope nodded and said "Yeah," which Vanille excitedly said "All right then!" Hope then began to stutter and said "But… I…" Vanille looked into his eyes and said "I'll go with you." Hope was surprised and said "What?"

Meanwhile Maqui was filling in Snow on what had happened and said "You have no idea what it's like," and then he started to groan. Snow smiled and said "Everyone safe." Maqui and Yuj then eagerly said "The army's no match for NORA!" Snow sighed and said "I meant the kids," and Lebreau slapped both of them on the head and said "Grow up!" Yuj quickly recovered and said "All accounted for." Snow smiled and inwardly thought that, that was the best news he had heard all day. "Okay." Snow said and whilst staring at the same hand that had gripped Nora's before she fell, he said "Let's keep it that way, all right?"

Back with Vanille and Hope, Vanille pushed Hope forwards towards the NORA members and said "Go on!" Hope, however, faltered and was unable to get closer to the group and unable to speak a word. Vanille decided to get closer and said "Hey!" However her voice was drowned out by Snow turning the flying motorbike back on and saying to his fellow NORA members "I'll swing by the vestige. Keep the kids out of trouble." Gadot nodded and said "You got it. Say hi to the missus for me!" Gadot then chuckled and continued by saying "You go skirt-chasing, I take care of the kids. Some husband!" Snow also chuckled and said "Dinner's on me," which Gadot replied to by saying "Better be home cooking!" Yuj then walked forward and said "When's the wedding, lover boy?" Snow laughed and said "Don't worry, none of you are invited!" Snow then ascended into the sky starting to fly off with most of the NORA members saying something to him. Yuj said "We're still going," and Maqui said "Hey, you serious?" and Lebreau said "Hey, what about me?" Snow looked down at them and gave them one last smile and said "Catch you later," before heading straight on towards the Vestige, all pumped and fired up to get his fiancée back from the Pulse Fal'Cie.

Hope and Vanille, meanwhile, watched on as the NORA leader left and Hope losing his chance to talk to him. Vanille started yelling and said "Wait! Come back!" Trying to coax the NORA leader on returning and talk to Hope but it was already too late, as he was out of earshot and well on his way to the Pulse Fal'Cie. Vanille walked over to where Gadot's bike was and Hope walked over to join her wondering what she was up too.

"Hm? You okay?" Vanille said, noticing Hope stop next to her. "I want to tell him, it's just that-," Hope said, stopping half way through his sentence, grabbing hold of Vanille's arm for support. Vanille looked shocked and then turned to face the bike and said "Say… You know how to fly this?" Hope replied by saying "Yeah. I think so." Vanille cheered and said "All right. In you go!" and pushed him into the motorbike and climbed in behind him and pointed towards the Pulse Fal'Cie and said "That way!" Vanille wrapped her arms around Hope's waist as Hope began to get second thoughts and said "No, no…If we go in there, that thing could- It could make us L'Cie." Vanille sighed and Hope continued on saying "This is… I don't think I can-," Vanille unwrapped her arms from around Hope and put them on the controls and said "You can do it!" Then a voice began to yell at them, it was Gadot. "What are you two doing?" Gadot started to run towards the two of them and without thinking, Hope activated the bike's controls and said "Here we go!" The bike ascended and then descended as Hope tried to figure out all the controls causing Gadot to say "Uh-oh!"

Hope, eventually, figured out what to do and levitated to a reasonable enough height and prepared to head off as Gadot shouted at them saying "Get back here? Do you hear me? Hey!" Hope however ignored Gadot and flew towards the Vestige, preparing to confront Snow; all hesitation lost in the heat of the moment, unprepared for the dangerous perils that waited for them when they arrived and the beginning of a journey that would change the world.

**Author's Note: Chapter 7 done and that's Part One complete. Please tell me what you think in a review and I'll start Part Two of the story whenever I can. Till Next Time, The Fantasy Man. **


End file.
